Pennsylvania Terror Propaganda

Title: Terror
Threats And Philadelphia; Is The City Prepared?Date: February 9, 2011Source:Examiner

Abstract:Homeland Security
Secretary Janet Napolitano has recently stated that the threat of a terrorist
attack against the US is in some aspects "at its most heightened
state" since the September 11th attacks.

"The terrorist
threat facing our country has evolved significantly," she told members of
Congress on Wednesday.

The threats come from
both new and old terrorist groups, some of which operate within the US. The
newer groups being heavily influenced by al-Qaeda, she said. Ms. Napolitano
warned that attacks could be carried out with little warning.

State and local law
enforcement officials are increasingly needed to combat terror and the federal
government must focus on supporting their efforts to secure communities, Ms.
Napolitano said in testimony to the House of Representatives Homeland Security
Committee.

No one can say for
sure which city, if any, could be a target. But, being that Philadelphia is part of
the megalopolis that is Boston, New York, Baltimore and Washington D.C., our
officials and first responders need to be prepared and actively monitoring the
situation. So, what is Philadelphia doing when it comes to preventing terror
attacks?

Like many major
cities, the Philadelphia Police Department has its own Homeland Security Unit.
Created in 2002 in response to the September 11th attacks, the unit was
establish to be a proactive response to the elevated terror threat. This unit
emphasized the need for first responders to also be first preventers.

There is both a tip
phone number (215-685-1170) and website which is actually just the Philadelphia
Police website.

The unit is trained
to respond to many different terror scenarios, some of which are, biological,
chemical, radiological, nuclear and explosives threats. These threats would be
dealt with by the Major Incident Response Team. A team made up of 500 volunteer
officers and supervisors who all received specialized training however the group
is not considered “special”. (As a special forces group would be categorized.)

However, with budget
deficits and recent cuts to the police and fire departments, is the unit still
as functional as it was when first created? Are sensitive areas, such as the
subway, sports arenas, and the PGW Plant still being actively and constantly
monitored?

Patrons of SEPTA may from time to time
notice transit police and Philadelphia police officers patrolling some of the
many subway platforms and subway cars themselves. But with last year’s flash
mobs and violent crimes, both on and off SEPTA property, have our first
responders become distracted? In the upcoming mayoral election,
one can hope this will be a topic of interest. And as for the PGW Plant in Port
Richmond, there is a buffer zone to stop people from parking close to the tanks
themselves. However, the barricades used are no more than orange safety cones
and wooden police detour signs.

The greatest weapon
against terrorism is you. Yes you, Mr. and Mrs. Philadelphia. It’s a phrase
repeated every year by counter-terrorism experts and politicians. As you ride
SEPTA to work or school, pay attention to your surroundings. The same when you
are at one of the sport’s complexes. This isn’t a sense of paranoia as
Philadelphia has had its problems with crime and its citizens know to remain
vigilant. Rather, this is a manageable approach to preventing a possibly
unmanageable situation (Examiner,
2011).

Abstract: A report in a national publication claimed Pittsburgh
and its surrounding areas are unprepared to handle a bioterrorist attack, and
state and local officials dispute that conclusion.

In December, a Forbes.com report ranked the Pittsburgh region as
one of the country's worst prepared to handle a terrorist attack using
biological weapons. The report was based on a rating system put out by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The ratings go from 0
to 100 and assesses a region's plan for handling a biological attack and the
ability to carry out that plan, including a region's ability to receive,
distribute and dispense medication, according to the CDC.

Wes Hill couldn't
disagree more with the report. Hill, the Beaver County Emergency Services
director and the chairman of the Region 13 Counter-Terrorism Task Force, said
the report is "very misleading to the public."

Hill said the report
averaged scores for the region over the past several years, instead of looking
at how the numbers have improved from year to year. Also, the report didn't
include the most recent figures, for 2010-11.

The report was
"not a good way of representing the data or the level of
improvement," said Shannon Calluori, director of the Office of Public
Health Preparedness for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. "Major
improvements have been made over the past several years."

For 2007-08, the
first year scores were given by the CDC, Beaver County received a rating of 42.
By 2009-10, the score was up to 66.

The most recent score
for Beaver County -- for 2010-11, which was not included in the average -- was
an 81, Calluori said. That number is above what the CDC says is an acceptable
preparedness score of at least 79.

Allegheny County's
rating also started off at 42 for the first year but was up to a 99 in the most
current years, Calluori said.

The scores are
partially determined by what has been written down for the CDC as far as
details of emergency preparedness plans, and the written reports to the CDC
have also improved in terms of detail, she said.

"We are better
prepared than we ever were," Hill said. "We'll continue to enhance
that capability."

Planning and Practice
Over the past five years, the Region 13 Task Force has put a lot of time and
money into creating an operations plan for a biological attack and practicing
enacting that plan.

The CDC gave
Pennsylvania more than $19 million in 2010 for public health preparedness
planning. Some of that money came from the CDC's Cities Readiness Initiative,
which focuses on improving preparedness in the country's major metropolitan
areas.

Classes approved by
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were made available to all response
organizations in the region to train and prepare first responders, Hill said.

In every county in
the region, Beaver included, there have been drills to practice the mass
distribution of pharmaceuticals, Hill said. He said the goal is to be able to
distribute pills or give injections to the general public quickly and
efficiently.

Practice exercises
have been done with surrounding counties as well, Hill said. One drill was done
in Butler with people from multiple counties coming into one distribution area
with a drive-through dispensary.

One of the important
components for Region 13 is that if one county needs help, it can pull
resources from surrounding counties, Hill said. The counties work as a team.

Calluori said the
region has proven its capability to dispense medication in a real situation as
well. She cited the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic as an example of vaccines
being successfully administered to thousands of people.